Blackbird's Cry
by assimilates
Summary: The secret of Heero's origins may hold the key to stopping a series of attacks and unlocking one of the ancient world's greatest mysteries... [xover with Inuyasha, paused]
1. Prologue

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**PROLOGUE **

"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?"

Duo Maxwell arched a curious brow at his partner, before bursting out into laughter. "If I recall, dude, you're usually the one doing the watching. Besides, no one knows where you are half the time to get the chance to watch you."

Heero Yuy nodded, "Good point." Although that was indeed the truth, Heero still felt a little on edge for some reason. Odd enough as it sounded, he felt as if eyes were burning holes in the back of his head. Yet, every time he surveyed the perimeter, nothing and no one was to be found. _Paranoia_, he told himself.

Or maybe the Perfect Soldier was onto something.

Secluded within the shadows, hidden by ancient techniques not known to the modern world, stood a lone figure. A satisfied smirk danced wildly upon his features, piercing eyes glimmering with amusement. The one below, the Preventer Organization's most skilled soldier, was his target. The soldier seemed paranoid, perhaps sensing his presence. _An inherited trait_, he mused, almost laughing at his own thoughts.

Reaching into the depths of his pockets, the shadowed man withdrew a small case. He lifted it's small lid to reveal what appeared to be a sliver of glass with a slight pinkish tint to it lying on a tiny velvet cushion. Gently, he lifted the fragile object and tapped it ever so slightly against the wall behind him.

Down below, something deep within Heero's mind flared. He whirled around, eyes fixed upon the spot in which the shadowed man stood, grinning with satisfaction.

His suspicions had been confirmed.

Finished for time being, the shadowed man turned and vanished into the darkness.

"Heero? Yo, Heero! You in there, man?" Duo waved his hand in front of Heero's eyes for good measure, snapping the Gundam Pilot out of his seemingly hypnotic state.

"Huh?" Heero blinked profusely, trying to rid himself of the odd feeling that had overcome him.

Duo squinted at him, somewhat freaked out. "You alright?"

"I'm...fine. It just... Something was here."

"What do you mean?"

Heero grasped the sides of his head, "If I knew I wouldn't have used the word 'something' in it's place. I..._felt..._something."

The Shinigami eyed him with curiosity. He was acting outside of his usually manor. Must be something in the water. He dismissed Heero's assumptions with a shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever. Look, we'd best be getting back to headquarters anyway. Une's got that meeting thing she wants all to attend."

"Yeah." With one last glance in the shadowed man's former position, Heero turned and followed Duo back to Preventer HQ.

* * *

Deep, chestnut eyes flew open as a sudden intake of air rushed into her lungs. She bolted upright in bed, tossing aside the white sheets as if they were some sort of infectious disease. Feet were placed upon the cold, tile floor and she wobbled on seemingly numb legs to the window. Long, slender fingers parted the curtains as she peered through to the world below.

Her eyes widened and she jumped back, falling to the ground as her legs were not accustom to the sudden movement. A shaky hand raked through her tangled hair, as her breath became faster and faster, panic overtaking her. She clutched the sides of her head, drawing her knees to her chest as she rocked back and fourth on the ground.

Door hinges squeaked and a man clad in a white coat stepped in. "My word..." Quickly, he leaned out the door, yelling for more people. Shouting quite clearly: "She's awake! It's a miracle!"

In an instant, she was on her feet once more. When the man looked at her, she screamed, terror eminent in her voice. She shoved past him and ran, shoving tables, trays, and other objects at anyone else who tried to stop her.

Soon, a pair of white double doors came into view, something she knew to be an exit, a way out of this place and out into a world that was even more alien to her. She shoved them roughly apart, stepping out into the foreign world she had gazed upon from the window. The cold night air tickled her skin, the feeling gave her a odd sense of home.

A choked sob made it's way out of her throat, but she didn't have time to cry, for men where dashing out the double doors towards her. She hid from them and moved in the shadows away from the place she had woken up in, using skills she had learned to use a long time ago...

Finally, she came to rest in a small park a ways away from the building. Hidden among low, leafy branches of a tree, she sat down and cried.

"Where am I?" She whispered into the darkness. "Where are you...?"

* * *

Heero sat up straight in his chair, glaring at Duo as he made a paper air plane out of Une's handout and threw it at WuFei, hitting the Chinese pilot square in the forehead. WuFei swore of course, with a cry of "Injustice!" and attempted to leap across the table to throttle the seemingly innocent Shinigami.

Lady Une cleared her throat, eyeing both pilots. "Well then, now that we've settled down, let's begin. As you know, a series off attacks have occurred in various places around the world, each with the same strange reports. We've suspected a terrorist organization - a new branch of OZ or the White Fang, perhaps. However, someone else believes something _else_ entirely is going on."

Quatre Raberba Winner blinked his blue eyes in curiosity, being the first to speak or inquire like always. He was a born leader and it radiated from him, giving him no room to deny it. "Oh really? Just what exactly?"

Une stood from her seat at the head of the table and moved to the door. She opened it to reveal a tall man with spiked hair, clad in a long, black duster. A katana was at his side, one hand resting on it protectively. He peered at everyone through his tinted glasses, removing them after a second or two.

"This is Detective Devlin Talen," Une said. "He believes he knows who is behind the attacks."

Devlin smirked, rolling his eyes at the disbelief evident in the Preventer head's voice. "I don't believe, I know."

"And that would be...?" Trowa Barton spoke this time, his normal stoic features never faltering as he met Devlin's gaze.

The Detective glanced around the room, pausing to look over each individual. His eyes came to rest upon the Preventer seated at the other end of the table, opposite Une's seat.

Heero.

The Perfect Soldier met Devlin's gaze, holding it more steadily than Trowa did.

Something about this particular Preventer intrigued Devlin. An odd feeling of familiarity, even though the two had never met.

"Demons."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino._

09.10.2004


	2. Chapter One

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**CHAPTER ONE **

"Demons."

The room went silent as the pilots exchanged looks of confusion and disbelief. Une smirked, fully expecting the Gundam Pilots to have the same reaction she did. However, Devlin had presented her with evidence that couldn't be ignored. She still disbelieved the idea that demons were behind the attacks, but evidence this strong couldn't be ignored.

They'd work with Devlin. For now.

Duo finally broke the silence, clearing his throat loudly as he propped his elbow up on the table and rested his head on his fist. "Um...dude? Check the calendar. It's AC 199, not some medieval story book. Even **I** know demons aren't real."

Devlin, seemingly amused by their disbelief, folded his arms and leaned back against the closed door. "Believe what you wish, but the fact remains: something is going on and you want to stop it. That is, unless you just want to sit back and watch as your world crumbles beneath you."

"Way to over dramatize," Trowa said simply. "If I may ask, Mr. Talen, how do you intend to assist us in the capture of these...terrorists?"

Devil sniffed the air, as if that simple gesture answered Trowa's question. "I know how to find them. A special sort of tracking device, for my use only." He looked to Une and she nodded, holding up a hand to silence Heero's oncoming questions.

"Indeed, he is the only one who knows and can use this particular tracking device. The way he's described it to me, it sounds like a primitive, unstable form of the..." She trailed off, meeting Quatre's gaze, then Heero's before letting out a long sigh.

"The Zero System," Quatre responded, frowning. All but Devlin knew of Quatre's dislike of the Zero System. He'd last used it during the final battle of the Eve War and he swore to himself that he'd never touch it again. It was now soley Heero's department now.

The Perfect Soldier scowled, not liking the idea of working so closely with a stranger. This meeting was a waste, no useful information was resulting from it. Heero stood from his chair, walking towards the door that Devlin was leaning against.

Une eyed him suspiciously. "Colonel?"

"I need to speak with Dr. Po," he stated and roughly removed Devlin from the doorway. A sound emitted from the detective's throat that Heero only seemed to hear. For a moment, anger flashed across Devlin's face, but it was quickly replaced with on of annoyance. Heero stared, confused by why the others weren't affected by the sound. After a few seconds, he shook his head and left.

Devlin scoffed, "What's his deal."

Duo gave a small laugh. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

* * *

"You're perfectly fine," Sally reassured him. "Shall I define 'perfect soldier,' as they like to call you, once more?"

Heero glared at her and sat up on the bio-bed. Something was wrong with him, he knew it. He was hearing and feeling things that others weren't. What was--

_Zero_.

Could his newfound paranoia be a side affect of the Zero System? It had caused Quatre to practically loose his mind... Heero had been using the Zero System for almost five years now, with little or no damage to his sanity. Part of his mind dismissed this idea, still believing that he was indestructible, even though he new that he was a mere mortal.

Just like everyone else.

He sighed, deciding that his mind was probably just creating an illusion of distress in attempt to create something that would be worth his time. Since the end of Mariemaia's attempt to overthrow the government and take control, he'd been doing minor missions, requiring little of the skills that he'd learned during his many years of training under Odin Lowe and Dr. J.

"Perhaps you need some--" Sally sighed as Heero roughly brushed past her and disappeared out the door. "...rest."

* * *

The sunlight crept in through the small openings between the leaves of the tree, drawing patterns on her face as the clouds moved by. She stirred, seemingly not scared nor shocked to awaken on the forest floor. A few leaves and twigs were entangled in her hair, but she did not bother to remove them. Her eyes moved to the tree top, where she skimmed the branches for something she hoped would be there.

She found nothing.

It was then that it dawned on her that the events of her dream had indeed been reality. Her eyes watered, but she refused to give into weakness and allow herself to cry. In times like this, one needed to be strong.

Where the hell she was, she needed to get home.

A heavy sigh escaped her and she drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them with--wait a minute. Puzzled, she drew her left hand into view - it was tightly clutched in a fist. She willed the hand to open, which was surprisingly hard, as if she had held that tight fist for an eternity.

Concentrating, she willed the hand to open once more. It did. She gasped.

Lying in the palm of her hand, was a large, round gem with a slight knick in it.

"Oh my..."

* * *

Heero's head whipped around, facing the southern most window in the large senior staff breakroom. _It's back_, he thought angrily as his eyes skimmed the skyline. _That feeling_...

A hand closed on his shoulder and he whirled around, the feeling shoved to the back of his mind as his eyes came to rest upon a pair of soft blue ones. Relena glanced up at him, her eyes searching his, as if she were looking for something. A small smile appeared and she made a small "Hmm" sound, letting her hand drop from his shoulder.

"Your shift starts early today, I'm afraid." She glanced at the silver-banded watch around her wrist. "I was just informed of an urgent meeting I'm needed at on L3."

He noticed how she tensed slightly as she mentioned L3. He knew all too well that she didn't have too pleasant memories of visiting that particular Colony Cluster.

"I hope it doesn't conflict with anything Une's got you scheduled for today," she continued. "If you have prior arrangements, I could ask WuFei--"

"Today, I am not busy." He stated simply.

She nodded. "Alright, then. My shuttle leaves at 1400 hours. Am I to assume you'll meet me there, or will you randomly show up at the meeting?"

He snorted at her attempt at humor and she laughed. Smirking at him, the politician turned and walked away, leaving him to turn back towards the window.

_What in all hells is this? It feels like something's...out there...calling to me..._

* * *

A sigh of relief escaped Devlin as he raked a hand through his dark hair. That kid...that Heero Yuy, something about him caught his attention, made him do a double take where he would've normally just taken a glance. His nostrils flared as he breathed in, loving the sent of the fresh, morning air. It always seemed to calm him, being up this high, inhaling the--

He spun around, removing his sunglasses and blinking into the bright, morning sky. He laughed, putting his shades back on and shoving his hands in the pockets of his duster.

"Can't be. That was a long time ago."

* * *

Relena stepped onto the shuttle, gasping in surprise and nearly dropping her binder as Heero stepped out into view. She pressed a hand to her chest. "My word, don't do that. You know I don't like surprises."

He raised an eyebrow at her and moved to his seat. She could've sworn he did that on purpose. Perhaps.

Shoving her things into the compartment above, she took her seat next to Heero.

He'd been quiet throughout the duration of the flight. Quieter than usual. Normally he glared at the back of the pilots' heads, daring them to make an error, waiting for the moment when he would have to jump from his seat and take the controls. But now, he stared out the window, deep in thought about something.

"Heero..." Her arm lightly brushed his as she shifted in her seat, the small contact bringing him back down to reality.

"Hn?" He responded in his usual manor, half-glaring at her.

"Are you alright? Seems like something's on your mind."

_Damn her_, he cursed. She was getting too good at reading him. He was letting his guard down, allowing himself to become weak and neglect his training. Glaring at her more so, he fixed his gaze on one of the pilots who jumped almost instantly, but lucky for him, didn't allow the shuttle to mimic his movements. "I'm fine."

She sighed, noticing that he had thrown his emotional barrier back up. _Why do I even try. I give up._ "If you say so."

He closed his eyes and breathed out, now feeling guilty. _Damn her..._ His head titled slightly towards her as he searched for a proper apology, as the shuttle touched the ground and came to a stop. "Relena--"

She screamed and leaped from her seat, clutching Heero's arm, eyes wide in fear. "What the hell!"

The Perfect Soldier stood and drew his gun from it's holster. He fired at the form, hearing Relena's gasp of terror as she watched the pilots fall dead at it's feet. The bullet, however, was deflected. Heero fired repeatedly until he was out of ammunition, but each time the bullet was either deflected or had no affect.

Having no other ammunition on him, as decreed by Preventer regulations, he dropped to the gun to the ground, now useless it was. He moved protectively in front of Relena, who seemed stunned, not understanding the situation they were currently in.

Neither did he.

The form before them appeared to be...almost bear-like, not like a human at all. It snarled at the two, liking it's blood-stained lips. A rough chuckled emitted from it's throat as it bared sharp claws.

Heero felt Relena's hands clutch the material of his Preventers jacket, her forehead coming to rest on his back. She shook it back and fourth as if trying to will the image before them away, whispering "it's a dream" repeatedly.

The being raised it's claws and sliced through the air towards them, but never got the chance to connect.

In a flash of colors, faster than Relena or Heero could comprehend, the arm fell from the bear-like creature.

Standing before it, unarmed, was Devlin Talen. "You're way out of your league."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino._

09.24.2004


	3. Chapter Two

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**CHAPTER TWO **

Devlin whipped his head around towards the Perfect Soldier and his princess. "Go, now! Get out of here!" His hand rested firmly upon the hilt of his katana as he dropped into a fighting stance before the fiercesome bear-like creature.

Heero hesitated, his instincts telling him to stay and fight. Fight at this strange man's side.

Relena instantly obeyed and turned to bolt from the shuttle. However, the man she was holding onto would not move. She stared at him, wide-eyed, almost frightened by his frozen demeanour. Heero Yuy was not one to shut down in a moment of crisis. He was like a statue, unmoving, cobalt blue eyes fixed upon the spot where the creature and Devlin stood, as if he were in some sort of hypnotic trance.

"Heero," Relena whispered, clasping his hand, "what's wrong?"

The Perfect Soldier blinked and shook his head, turning his gaze towards her. Relena's voice was laced with fear, a tone he had never heard her use before, despite all that she had been through in the past. Even staring down the barrel of his gun, she hadn't even flinched. Now, she was shaking.

He squeezed her hand instinctively, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Hey!" Devlin shouted impatiently. "What are you two waiting for? Run!" His fingers danced along the katana's hilt, his violet eyes flickering from them and to the exit.

Relena gave a startled yelp as Heero ran from the shuttle, dragging her along behind him, keeping a firm grip on her hand. It wasn't until he was sure they were safe inside that Heero finally released her hand.

His eyes instantly flew back to the shuttle, where saw Devlin standing exactly where they left him. Devlin drew his katana from its sheath, a bright yellow light filling the shuttle.

Heero looked away, but when he turned back, the light was gone. And so was Devlin.

"What was that?" Relena question at his side.

"I don't know..."

* * *

Blue eyes opened wide as the ground shook. A scream erupted from her throat, as the hand that wasn't clutching the pink gem grabbed a hold of the tree behind her for support as she stood. Her legs felt weaker than when she had initially woken up, and it was harder to walk on them with the earthquake.

Wait...no...this was no earthquake.

Before her, stood two mobile suits, towering over her, making her feel like a ant about to be squashed beneath the foot of some careless human.

This was too much for her to handle. Too much for her to take in all at once.

Her legs wobbled and she looked up, stating clearly, "I've seen this anime before," and promptly passed out.

* * *

Duo drummed his fingers along the table's edge, halting his hand upon receiving one of Heero's famous death glares. Heero was unusually moody today, and even more _protective_ of Relena than he usually was - so much that he brought her with him to the meeting, despite her protests. Duo knew that Heero was her bodyguard, but this was ridiculous!

"What are we waiting for?" The Shinigami inquired, stifling a yawn. Quatre looked up from his book, wondering the same thing.

"Detective Talen," Heero stated simply. At his side, Relena grimaced.

As if on cue, Devlin came waltzing in, an air of confidence about him. He took a seat to Trowa's right, and looked to Heero. "Well?"

Relena was the first to speak. She pointed at the Detective, confusion evident in her features. "Detective, if you don't mind me asking... Your hair...?"

All eyes fell upon Devlin and his new long hair, pulled up into a plain ponytail at the back of his head, as he struggled to remain calm, quiet as if looking for the right answer. "I, uh... That's not why I'm here, is it? My hair is of no importance. About the incident at the shuttle, by all means, question away." He leaned back casually, folding his hands behind his head.

Heero made a sound of disapproval. "How did you kill that...that...thing?"

Devlin scoffed. "With a sword, of course. Classic means of defeating a demon. Some demons are vulnerable to bullets, others, like the one you encountered, are not. Thus, a sword is a more reliable weapon in most cases."

Relena paled. "That was a d-demon?"

"It was not," Heero answered quickly before Devlin could speak. "There are no such thing as demons."

Devlin leaned forward, eyeing Heero suspiciously. "How can you say that when you've seen a demon with your own eyes? Tell me, what other explanation is there for what you saw."

He waited, but got no answer.

"Exactly. Now, we can either work together to find a solid means of preventing their attacks, or you can go about doing what you've been doing and allow these attacks to proceed."

Quatre sighed. "Alright. I'm not saying that I-we exactly believe that these attacks are indeed being caused by demons. However, the point of the matter is that these attacks are happening. Being that we don't have certain resources at our disposal anymore..." He trailed off with a sigh.

Devlin smirked. "You need me."

"You put it so bluntly. However, yes...yes, we do."

"First things first, no--" Devlin was cut off abruptly as Sally Po burst in.

WuFei looked up expectantly, hoping that they had a mission of some sort that would pull him away from this odd meeting. There was something about Devlin that the Chinese pilot couldn't help but dislike, and Heero's edginess was beginning to creep him out. However, it was Heero that Sally went to.

She whispered something in the Perfect Soldier's ear, and the two were instantly out of the room - Heero didn't even bother to excuse himself from the meeting.

The four pilots exchanged looks, Devlin remaining in the dark. "What?"

* * *

A battle had broken out between two of the workers in charge of dismantling old mobile suits. Heero, using one of the few remaining Taurus suits that belonged to the Preventers, managed to disable the Leo suits that were being piloted and was currently escorting the two back to headquarters for containment and questioning.

Sally crouched over the limp form of a seventeen - twenty-year-old girl, clothed in nothing more than a simple hospital gown. Her hair was matted and there was no evidence of ID anywhere on her. No hospital bracelet, no ID tags, nothing. She pressed two fingers to the girl's neck, feeling a steady pulse beneath them. Digging in her pocket, she retrieved her cell phone and called for an ambulance.

* * *

"So, who is this?" WuFei asked, leaning over the girl's unconscious form.

Sally shrugged. "No clue. I've ran every form of ID check I could think of. And before you ask, so has Heero. It makes me wonder...who she is, why she was there, y'know? Was she involved? So many questions."

"How about a name?" He suggested.

"That might help. But I'm still puzzled as to why I can't even find a finger-print match up, not to mention a DNA pairing. There's seemingly no record that this girl's ever existed."

"There's no record of Heero or Trowa, either."

"Touché."

WuFei opened his mouth to say something more, but was silenced by a hand motion from Sally. He followed her eyes to the girl, who stirred. She starred up at him with bright blue eyes, blinking in confusion.

"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked.

Sally stepped forward, shoving WuFei to the side. "I'm Doctor Sally Po and this is my partner, Colonel WuFei Chang. You're at the Preventer base in Houston, Texas."

"Texas? The United States?"

She nodded. "Yes, it was called that at one time."

"At one time...? Huh?" The girl sighed and pressed a hand to her temples. "I'm loosing it. It's official, I've gone bonkers. Completely off my rocker."

Sally gave her a warm smile. "That has yet to be determined. I'm afraid that I haven't been able to find any record of you. Anywhere."

"I see... I'm guessing you want my name."

"Mm-hmm."

Her fist tightened around the gem in her right hand. "Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino; Inuyasha is © Rumiko Takahashi._

10.24.2004


	4. Chapter Three

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**CHAPTER THREE **

It had taken her a while to adjust to this era. The customs and people, while so similar to ones she was used to, were odd and made her yearn for a simpler time where things made sense. She learned of a war that was seemingly worse than that of the horror that was World War II, of imaginative machines brought to life in the form of Mobile Suits, and of a group of mysterious soldiers who saved the world. To her, it all sounded like something ripped straight from the pages of the latest manga.

Dorothy Catalonia, head of the Romafeller Foundation - which was centered in what was once Germany - eyed her curiously. After realizing that she knew no one, had no family, nothing in this foreign time period, this young, eccentric, world leader took interest in her. Kagome hadn't complained. Dorothy took her under her wing, taught her what she had 'forgotten' due to her, as Dr. Po put it, 'amnesia.' While Kagome knew very well that she didn't have amnesia, she hadn't argued. They wouldn't believe her if she told them.

Kagome, though now knowledgeable in the time period she was now stuck in, had no useful skills that she could contribute. Occasionally, she'd run errands for both Dorothy and her close friend, the Vice Foreign Minister, while at the Preventer offices. However, she'd soon grown bored with having to linger about the Romafeller Estate. She felt useless.

She had mentioned to Dorothy once that she had been somewhat trained in the ways of a Japanese priestess, telling her that she had been intended to take over her grandfather's shrine when he passed away. This was a half-truth, but Dorothy bought it. Thus, it was suggested by the Romafeller leader that she do what she was trained to do.

Be a miko.

Though the thought seemed silly to her and brought up all too painful memories of a time and people she would never see again, Kagome complied. She soon began working at a local Shinto shrine - a replica of the Japanese originals. The shrine workers were thrilled to have her. It saddened her, though she had never been the religious type, to see how much faith the people had lost over the years. Teenagers used the stone steps of the shrine as a skateboarding ramp, and tourists stopped by from time-to-time to buy charms.

Kagome sighed. "Must be the after effects of the war..."

"Did you say something, Miss Kagome?"

The miko shook her thoughts away and glanced towards Dorothy, who was eyeing her curiously. "No, nothing."

"I see... Well, no time for doubts," she ran a gloved finger along one of her eyebrows, "for we're here. Remember, you promised, Miss Kagome."

Kagome grimaced. She didn't know which bothered her more - the fact that everyone, no matter who they were, tacked "miss" onto her name or the fact that she was about to step foot into Versailles, the current home of the reigning European royal family. The Peacecrafts.

She gulped and froze in place at the entrance to the extravagant palace. Dorothy laughed at her, and looped an arm through hers.

"Come on, Miss Kagome," she chided, "we'll miss the party if you insist on standing out here all day like a statue!" Dorothy didn't give Kagome room to complain or protest, as she bolted through the doors, pulling the miko along with her.

Fear and an overwhelming awareness that she didn't belong in this era engulfed her as Dorothy slipped into the crowd, making a b-line for the Preventer's table. She opened her mouth to call out to her, but no sound emerged.

_How dare she leave me here! I don't belong here, can't you see? I swear, as soon as I've gathered enough money to book a flight to Japan..._ She sighed. _I want to go back. Inuyasha... I'm so sorry._

"Gah!" She yelped as someone collided with her, knocking her to the ground.

"Look what you've done, Maxwell," an angry voice sounded. "With the way your antics tend to go, I'm surprised Relena allowed you to come, let alone Zechs - France's most historical land mark will be in ruins before the night is over."

A hand grasped hers and hauled her to her feet, the hand's owner mumbling under his breath about people with an ego large enough to generate power for a small country. "Uh, sorry about that."

"It's alright...it's fine," Kagome muttered as she brushed off the back of the light blue dress that Dorothy had insisted she wear.

"Wait a second, you're Dorothy's friend!"

She grimaced at being recognized as 'Dorothy's friend.' Her hands balled into fists at her side, clutching the material of her dress. "Yeah, that's right - Kagome." _Ka-Go-Me!_

The man wore a formal Preventer's uniform, the rank of Colonel pinned to his collar. A long braid trailed down his back, almost to his knees. Though his rank was so high, he didn't look any older than she was. "Nice name."

Kagome shrugged. "I suppose some may see it that way, Colonel..."

"Maxwell," he offered. "But please, call me Duo."

Duo Maxwell? She inwardly gasped and kicked herself. This was one of the Preventer's top soldiers. Wait...if he was a top soldier, then what in the world was he doing tripping over air?

"Well, Duo--" Her eyes flew up to meet his, and she froze. Vibrant violet eyes looked back at her, eyes the color of his on the nights of a new moon. She found herself turning away from him, muttering a quick excuse, and headed in Dorothy's direction.

_I want to go back..._

* * *

Devlin swirled his drink around in his hands, the potent smell of alcohol tickling his nose. He sighed, taking a long gulp, setting the empty glass down with a satisfying thud.

"Growing bored with the festivities, Mr. Talen?" Lady Une arched a dark eyebrow at him, claiming the empty seat across from him.

He resisted the urge to scoff at her. "That's an understatement, my Lady. I was never one for parties."

She eyed him curiously. "Then why come? Your presence wasn't required, Mr. Talen. Quite frankly, Vice Foreign Minister Dorlian only extended an invitation to you out of common curtsey."

He leaned back casually in his chair. "I'm not here for the party. My presence here is only due to the recent terrorist threat. From what I've heard, the Vice Foreign Minister is a favored target."

"You do have a point." She suppressed a laugh. "Though my top soldier will more than likely beat you to the scene of the crime when and if Miss Relena is attacked."

"Colonel Yuy, eh?"

She nodded.

"That kid is an odd one. Where'd you find him, anyway? With the skills he's got, it seems almost if he popped out of a gorilla training camp or something."

If Devlin only knew how close to the truth he was. Une had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. She could almost feel Heero's patent death glare burning holes into her back from his hiding spot.

Devlin shook his head. "Still amazes me that your top soldiers are so young. But, I guess talent and skill is in the youth these days."

"It would seem."

The detective opened his mouth to say more, but froze, his attention suddenly being drawn towards the other side of the room. His trained eyes scanned the room, but found nothing. Odd, he could've sworn he...

"Detective - what is it?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino; Inuyasha is © Rumiko Takahashi. Original characters © moi._

11.14.2004


	5. Chapter Four

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**CHAPTER FOUR **

Relena sighed heavily, placing a thick manila folder into a nearby file cabinet. Normally, she'd feel relieved after putting one of those awful things away, but a glance over her shoulder reminded her of the stack sitting on her desk, begging her to be completed. She groaned, rubbing her throbbing temples with her fingers.

It had been a stressful couple of weeks for the politician princess. The incident on the shuttle with Heero and Devlin being the highlight and peak of her stress. So much worry had gone into that event, that she'd neglected to do her weekly reports. She was far behind schedule now and was rushing to catch up.

Her computer beeped and she held back the sudden urge to toss it out the window. She returned to her seat and tapped the screen. "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you," the image of Lady Une's secretary appeared, "but Miss Une is requesting the treaty she sent over for your signature a few hours ago."

Relena grimaced, she'd completely forgotten. "Yes...I'll send someone over." Without giving the woman time to respond, Relena clicked the screen off, reaching for the discarded document and signed her name.

She bit her lip, staring at it for a moment, then tapped the screen once again. "Dorothy?"

Dorothy's image smiled at her. "Why hello Miss Relena! What is it that I can do for you?"

The princess hesitated for a moment. "If Kagome isn't busy, I was wondering if she could run something to Une for me..."

* * *

Kagome turned the sealed envelope around in her hands, stepping out of the elevator and into Une's office.

Une's brunette head snapped up instantly, as if she was expecting her. Apparently she was expecting someone else, for her expression fell slightly upon recognizing Kagome. "Can I help you?"

She held the envelope out to her. "This is from the Vice Foreign Minister..."

"Oh! Yes, yes. Thank you, Miss Kagome." She smiled at the young miko, then stood as her eyes caught sight of a figure behind her. "Ahh, Mr. Talen."

Kagome whirled around, recognizing the name of the detective that Relena and Dorothy had been rambling on about. She had wanted to meet this odd man. "Hello...?"

The stack of books that Devlin had been carrying tumbled to the floor, his arms limp at his side. His violet eyes were the size of saucers and his mouth formed words without sound. After a few seconds, he bent and retrieved his books, placing them on Une's desk.

He managed to find his voice as well, "I-I, something's come up. Gotta...g-gotta go."

Kagome blinked, watching with confusion as Detective Talen practically ran towards the elevators. She frowned. "What was that all about?"

"No clue. The man is a mystery within himself."

* * *

Devlin tossed his duster onto the chair within his office, pacing back and fourth restlessly.

It couldn't be, it just couldn't! But yet, he had seen her with his own eyes. The signs had been around him for quite some time now, but he had refused to believe them to be true. Many years had gone by and he had nearly forgotten about her, and now...here she was.

A groan escaped him, a sudden surge of anger dominating his emotions. His mind set, he flung open the door to his office. All he needed was a quick sniff of the air - that alone told him where to go.

He found her admiring a large portrait of the Peacecraft royal family in one of the large meeting rooms. She must've heard his footsteps, for she tore her gaze away from the painting and turned to him. She began to apologise for whatever she did to offend him earlier, but he barely heard her words.

She gasped and horror spread over her features as he roughly shoved her against the wall, sneering at her. Kagome edged away, but he followed, cornering her near the door, his hands resting against the wall on either side of her head. She was trapped.

"How could you do this to me?" He shouted.

She trembled. She didn't understand. "I--"

"Silence!" He paused, brining his downward gaze up to meet hers. "Seven hundred years. Seven hundred fucking years, wench! You choose now to show your face again. I thought I told you never to come back. But what do you know - you're back. Well, whoop-dee-doo, let's celebrate! I think not. And to think you had the nerve to shut it. To think I tried to..." He scoffed, shaking his head.

Kagome's eyes welled up with tears as he ranted on. Seven hundred years of what? She didn't understand! His gaze was too intense and she looked down at her feet, contemplating escape. Her eyes slowly trailed up his form, past the circle of--

Wait.

Her breath caught in her throat as her gaze became transfixed upon an all too familiar strand of purple beads. One trembling hand reached up, the tips of her fingers trailing along the beads, feeling their rough texture that had become worn and over the years. Her hand moved up to cup his cheek.

It was only then that his ranting ceased.

"What have they done to you," she whispered, "Inuyasha?"

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino; Inuyasha is © Rumiko Takahashi_.

11.15.2004


	6. Chapter Five

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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**CHAPTER FIVE **

"What have they done to you, Inuyasha?"

His eyes went wide and his hand came to rest upon the one that was cupping his cheek. For a moment, just a moment, she thought he was going to return her soft, gentle touch. However, things were never that easy. Not with Inuyasha.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his face, shoving her roughly against the wall before releasing his grip.

"Don't touch me," he spat. "Don't ever touch me." He glared at her with such and intensity that it made her shudder and crumple to the floor.

Kagome bowed her head, feeling ashamed of herself. She had pushed him away, caused him to be angry, made him feel--

_No_.

Her head raised, a defiant glint in her eyes, and she stood. She had done nothing wrong. He had no reason to be angry with her. And she didn't have to take it.

"How dare you."

He stopped. Glancing over his shoulder at her then turned back, as if a second glance wasn't needed. Wasn't worth it.

"I have done nothing wrong. I was just going about my business, on my way back to Dor--"

Suddenly, he was in front of her, glaring down at her with crossed arms. "Just what are you doing here, Kagome? Out of all the places you could be, you just happened to end up in Houston, Texas. Fancy that."

She blinked at the improvements in his speech, but kept her anger in place. "For your information, you arrogant bastard, I work for Dorothy Catalonia."

"Catalonia? Ahh, the Romafeller head. Dermail's granddaughter." He scoffed, shaking his head of black hair. "That's beside the point."

"Inuyasha--"

"Don't call me that. That name isn't me anymore. It doesn't fit. You don't fit. You don't belong here. So, just go back wherever it is you came from. You're not wanted here. Never were. So just leave!"

Almost without thinking, she slapped him. He gaped at her, holding his reddened cheek. She huffed and turned away from him, stopping a good five feet away. "Devlin?"

He didn't verbally answer her, just tapped his foot impatiently when she didn't state her question.

Kagome smirked.

"Osuwari."

After 700 years of not being sat, he hadn't seen it coming. He face planted into the marble tile of the meeting hall, grumbling angrily. The spell wore off and moved into a sitting position, his hands flying to his face. "Dammit, woman! I think you broke my nose!"

He shot a glare her way, but she didn't catch it. She was staring at something behind him, a look of panic on her face. He rolled his eyes and turned around...

Only to meet the confused face of Heero Yuy.

"Uh...Colonel."

Heero nodded at him, eyeing Kagome suspiciously. "Detective. Slippery floor?"

Inuyasha glared up at Heero, not quite able to hold his customary calm demeanor in place with that...wench around. She was nothing but trouble, he'd learned that over the many years since she shut the well on him. The spell wore off and he brought himself to his feet, casting a glance in Kagome's direction before turning to Heero.

"Lady Une needs to invest in janitors that know how to wax properly," he said.

Heero raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, but didn't question them. "Perhaps." He glanced at them, back and fourth a few times, before settling his gaze on the portrait that Kagome had been gazing at earlier. "This section of the building is locked for the night. Detective Talen, Lady Kagome - I suggest you return to your quarters."

Kagome watched as the stoic Preventer left, frowning in Inuyasha's direction. She moved towards him, somewhat sorry for sitting him like that. He had deserved it alright, but she was pretty sure that Lady Une's Preventers didn't know he was a hanyou. If he was angry with her now - though in her eyes his anger was unjust - he would surely kill her if she had revealed that to Colonel Heero Yuy.

No, Inuyasha would never hurt her...would he?

The miko reached out a hand, but he anticipated her move and swatted her hand away. "Go back to Dorothy's estate, Kagome."

"Inuyasha, I didn't mean--"

"I told you, Devlin Talen. Not," he paused briefly, as if his name was a foreign word that wouldn't roll off his tongue properly, "_Inuyasha_. I've got things to do, work to do. You should get back to your errands." He didn't leave her time to reply, removing himself from the room as quickly as possible without sprinting.

Once safely back in his office, he slumped back into his chair, letting his head droop to his chest. Part of him wished that she was long dead like he had thought for so long. That part wanted to continue hating her for shutting the well on him. The other half found it hard to hate her when she seemed so lost and confused, wanted to reach out and guide her... That half wanted her to stay and never drift away again.

Oh, how he wished that side would take a vacation. Kagome be damned, he had a job to do.

Inuyasha rose from his chair and slipped out of his office and the building to do some much needed patrolling. With Relena and a miko in the vicinity, demons were sure to be in abundance.

* * *

Kagome almost crumpled to the floor. If she were still the 15-year-old girl she had been once upon a time, she surely would have, but the maturity she had gained in her short amount of time in this future era prevented her from doing so. Instead she stood there, staring at the doorway, unsure of what to do.

She had thought she was alone, that he had died long ago. But no, here he was, right under her nose all along.

And he hated her, wanted her to leave...to go away. Sure, he had told her to go home, claiming he didn't care what happened to her countless times in the Sengoku Jidai, but never before had she felt those words...sting.

It was then that she felt another sensation - one of familiarity, one that she wished would just leave her alone. It wasn't coming from the gem that rested safely in her pocket, but from off in the distance, coming in closer. "Shikon no Kakera..."

* * *

Heero, after making another sweep of that particular floor, made his way back to the meeting hall to make sure Devlin Talen and Dorothy's friend had vacated like he request of them. He never made it through the door.

Why hadn't he felt it before?

He clutched his head, confusion taking over. Off in the distance, he felt something coming towards them. But what really set off the alarms in his head was woman before him. Something about Kagome Higurashi was making the sirens scream louder and louder.

"Shikon no Kakera..." He heard her whisper.

The Perfect Soldier managed to mutter a faint, "What?" before something burst through one of the large windows.

Before them, stood a figure clad entirely in black. The figure smirked, setting his dark gaze upon Kagome, who stood as if frozen. "Well, well, well...look who's back."

The last thing Heero heard before he passed out was the distinct sound of Kagome's scream.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam Wing © Yoshiyuki Tomino; Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi._

02.01.2005


	7. Chapter Six

**BLACKBIRD'S CRY**

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** CHAPTER SIX **

He had expected a lowly demon or two, wandering the grounds for the chance to sneak up on the prized politician princess - not to hear Kagome's scream erupt into the night.

His feet became glued to the spot he was standing in, an inner conflict arising as he debated on whether to run to Kagome's aid or continue on with patrolling the grounds. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily in defeat, turning sharply on his heals as he became unglued, bolting off in the direction of Kagome's scream.

After she closed the well on him, nearly 700 years ago, he swore to himself that if she ever came back, if he ever saw her again, he'd never go running to her rescue. Yet, here he was. Minutes from discovering that she was alive, however that happened, and he was running with all the speed he could muster to save her. He wasn't even sure she was in danger, she could've screamed for a number of different things. Still, he rushed to her side.

Inuyasha's jaw dropped open at the sight he found back in the meeting hall. Kagome lay unmoving on the floor, a booted foot that belonged to someone he didn't know placed somewhat possessively on her chest. He felt a wave of worry, panic, and despair wash over him.

_No,_ some inner voice deep within cried out, _She just came back...she can't leave again!_ He forced that voice back, tearing his gaze from Kagome's form to scan the rest of the room.

Colonel Heero Yuy lay a few feet away from Kagome, closer to the door. It seemed as if the Colonel had ran back in. Though, he appeared to be uninjured. Had he fainted at the sight of this...man? No. Inuyasha had seen Heero Yuy stare down a bear youkai. Some strange man clad in black couldn't scare Lady Une's top soldier.

He'd see to the Colonel later, he was alive and his top priority was Kagome.

Making sure that Heero was out good and cold, he allowed the glamour that he had perfected over the many years since he'd discovered this handy trick drop, revealing the hanyou that he was. He unsheathed the Tetsusaiga, only able to use it when in his true form and not shielded by his human blood. "Get away from her," he breathed, stepping towards the man.

The man turned to Inuyasha, smiling at him in a way that struck an odd sense of familiarity, though the hanyou couldn't figure out what exactly.

Much to his surprise, the man removed his foot, stepping away from Kagome and to the window he came through. "Now is not the time, nor the place," he said simply, then jumped out the window, fading into the darkness of night.

Normally, Inuyasha would've followed, but he couldn't leave without knowing if she was alive or not. He returned his father's fang to it's sheath, putting the glamour back in place in case Heero decided to wake up. Kneeling next to Kagome, he pressed two fingers to her neck.

He sighed heavily. _She has a pulse._

Kagome stirred at his touch, one hand moving to rub at her left temple. The other was placed on top of Inuyasha's hand, which still lingered at her neck, afraid that if he removed his fingers, her pulse would die. Her eyes opened and he found himself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes that squinted at him in confusion.

"W-what happened?" She asked, frowning when he jerked his hand out from underneath hers. He jumped to his feet, not even bothering to help her up. Instead, he moved over to stare at Heero Yuy's unconscious form.

"Some man," Inuyasha answered, not looking at her. "More than likely, he was after Miss Relena. You two just happened to get in his way." At that last sentence, he stared down at Heero in confusion.

Kagome managed to bring herself to her feet and moved over to Inuyasha, blinking at his confusion that was adding to hers. "What?"

"This is Colonel Heero Yuy."

"I know that. I do listen to Dorothy's gossip."

He rolled his eyes at her, "He's Miss Relena's personal bodyguard. No one's ever gotten past him and lived, let alone injured him. Yet, he's passed out cold. I'm just wondering what did this."

Kagome shrugged. "Like I'd know. This place is as foreign to me as my era was to you." She smiled at him, but he didn't return it.

"Feh," was the answer she got. "Leave things that happened 700 years ago in the past. They have no relevance to the current era." He knew she was frowning, maybe even getting teary-eyed, but he didn't turn to see. Instead, he headed for the door, stepping casually over Heero's form.

"Where are you going?"

"To wake up Dr. Po."

* * *

Sally Po groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head to drown out the rapping at her door. The one night she wasn't off on a mission with WuFei or sewing up one of the Pilot's reckless wounds, someone dared to disallow her sleep. She'd kill them.

"I'm coming!" she shouted in annoyance in the direction of the door, rolling out of bed. Once she located her slippers, she moved to the door, pulling it open. She had expected Quatre, maybe Duo - not Devlin Talen.

She blinked, "Uh...Detective. Can I help you?"

"Colonel Heero Yuy is passed out in the meeting hall and the miko, Kagome Higurashi, was attacked." Inuyasha stepped back from the door, turning to head down the hallway in the direction opposite the meeting hall. "Thought you'd want to know."

Sally swore as Devlin left, darting back in her room to dig for her cell phone, which was somewhere in the pocket of her Preventers jacket. Upon locating it, she dialed-up WuFei. "Meet me in the meeting hall near Une's office. Bring Maxwell."

* * *

Heero Yuy sent his best death glare towards his braided baka of a best friend, causing the pilot to jump and take a step back. "I do not faint," the Perfect Soldier stated, averting his gaze to where Kagome stood, giving WuFei and Sally her account of what happened. Oddly, he didn't hear her tell them anything about having an argument with Devlin Talen. Were they arguing? Heero was sure he heard them yelling prior to asking them to leave.

"What, did you just randomly decide the floor looked nice and cozy and laid down to take a nap?" Duo asked, sarcastically. "C'mon, Heero, you're only human."

Heero huffed, standing. "If I'm not needed any longer," he directed at Sally, who turned to him, "I'm going to go check on Relena."

Sally nodded at him and waved towards the door, signaling that it was alright for him to leave. He didn't know why he asked permission to leave. Manners were developing, and he was beginning to develop a slight hatred for them.

He left and made his way to where Relena's room was while they were staying at Headquarters, glad that Duo had decided to stay behind. His head was pounding, despite what he had told Sally, and Duo's persistent talking only made it worse. This was weakness - the Perfect Soldier had no weakness.

"Relena, it's me." He knocked lightly on her door, not at all surprised when she opened the door to find her fully dressed and fully awake at this time of night.

She was on the phone with someone, probably a conference call, and simply stepped aside, motioning for him to come in. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He leaned his back against it, folding his arms, watching Relena as she moved back to her desk and scribble some notes down on a pad of paper.

"Uh huh," she said into the phone, "yes. I understand completely. I'll see to it that they know of your needs. I assure you, I will aid you in making this treaty work." She said good-bye to whoever was on the receiving end of that call and set the phone down.

"Business?" He inquired.

The politician princess sighed, leaning her head on one propped up arm. "As usual. I'm always willing to help, but sometimes I wish they'd call in favors from the other diplomats to work out their problems."

"Hn."

Relena looked up, her eyes falling on the soldier that leaned against the door to her office that doubled as her temporary residence while at Preventer Headquarters for long periods of time. "Something's wrong."

Heero's jaw clentched. How did she always know? Yes, there was something wrong. But, how to tell her that he believed he was starting to experience side effects from his many years of working with the Zero System? And more importantly, _why_ tell her? Though he may be her bodyguard, she was not his boss. She did not give him orders, give him missions. He did not need to answer to her, nor give her explanation. To anything.

Yet, something urged him to tell her. "I'm going crazy."

Her ocean blue eyes blinked in his direction, before she leaned back in her over stuffed chair, eyeing him with an amused grin on her face. "Why Heero, are you trying to be funny?"

His eyes opened and he tried not to glare at her. He dropped his barrier for just a moment, telling her the truth rather than remaining silent, and she thought he was joking. Heero pushed himself off the door, turning to leave, but stopped when she suddenly appeared at his side.

Relena removed his hand from the doorknob, lookind up at his stoic features. "You're serious." It wasn't a question - she knew then that he wasn't lying. Though, she didn't understand. Heero Yuy was...the Perfect Soldier. Perfect. Insanity was not something she would ever assosiate him with. "How?"

On instinct, he pulled away from her, moving over to sit down at the couch in the far corner, opposite her desk. He looked down. Why was he always honest with her? He owed her nothing. "Zero."

She moved to the couch, sitting down next to him. She opened her mouth and closed it, unsure of what to say. Heero honestly believed he was going crazy. How was she supposed to react to that? Finally, she found words. "How do you know?"

He brought his head up, turning to look at her. "Hn?"

"How do you know...that you're going...crazy?" She stared at him for a moment, then turned away, shaking her head. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything." Relena moved to stand, but Heero caught her arm.

"I can feel things, before they happen. Dorothy's assistant, Kagome Higurashi, was attacked earlier. I knew she was about to be attacked - I felt it, Relena. And it's not the first time. The Zero System made Quatre loose his mind during the war...perhaps now is the time I lost mine."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_Gundam wing is © Yoshiyuki Tomino. Inuyasha is © Rumiko Takahashi._

02.09.2005


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